Fine Lines
by KenSan1990
Summary: Kaiba bought Jou for the sake of appeasing his girlfriend Anzu in a bet. But the longer the blond is around the more he realizes he's falling for him more than he thought. When Jou goes stray Kaiba gives up much to try and find him. Full sum. inside SJ
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello there! Yes, I realize I start too many projects. I think I'm starting this one because I'm deleting 'This is Us' because I can't really think of anywhere to take it and any plot for it. So if you read/enjoyed that one...I may or may not post it on deviantart, so you can keep a lookout on my page if you really wanted to read it.

I wish to mention that this starts as SetoAnzu, but I plan on it becoming SetoJou by the end. Just follow me through the tedious process. It was how it worked out best. Sorry any Anzu/Tea haters...I like her enough. She's got spirit. Anyways, onwards.

* * *

><p><strong>Full Summary:<strong> In a bet with his girlfriend, Anzu, Kaiba crosses the line in his morals for the sake of winning the bet and proving he's right. He does this by finally succumbing to the purchase of a 'pet'; a human whose traits have been deemed unworthy in a society hellbent on conformity. But Kaiba ends up finding himself succumbing to the blond haired 'dog' in a completely different way than he ever imagined. To the point where he puts everything on the line in order to find the 'dog' when it goes stray. **Begins SetoAnzu, ends SetoJou. AU. **

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 1.<span>

"…we draw our own lines in the sand," Kaiba Seto finished, his eyes centered on the cell phone in his hand. He was scrolling through the contents, eyes moving faster than one could possibly think of achieving. He had something of a scowl on his face, though this wasn't an uncommon look for him to bear.

The person with whom he was speaking had crossed his legs and leaned over to speak with the woman beside him before looking back to the CEO with a puzzled look on his brow. "At least put it away after intermission."

Kaiba didn't deign the comment with a response, too immersed in his own work as he worked to piece everything together in his mind. He was a little shaken, and he looked to the stage for a millisecond before returning to his phone and making his final changes to the document and quickly sending it. He clicked a button and returned it to his jacket pocket. Unconsciously his hands floated up to his tie and fastened it just the slightest bit tighter, flattened out the collar of his dress shirt, and then tugged on the lapels of the jacket where they pulled together.

Kaiba tried to forget the man and turned his attention to the stage as the dancers came out and began the second act. He was refined enough to respect the life that his girlfriend wanted to live, but never did he take pleasure in it as much as she did.

It was maybe another hour of interpreting the piece, each little movement like its own line of dialogue. Occasionally he found it interesting, his eyes sliding across the stage with the one figure that he was most familiar with. The reason that he was there at all.

At the end of the performance he watched as his chocolate haired girlfriend left the stage. He looked down to his playbill, and in the dimmed light he looked at the list of names, finding hers quickly.

Mazaki Anzu. He tucked the playbill alongside his phone and stood up, clapping with the rest of the audience. The man was still looking at him, waiting for a moment to call the CEO rude again. Like he was a vulture picking at the man's imperfections. Kaiba knew he wasn't perfect, but all the same he wasn't going to let out his weaknesses so that the sharks could come and feed on the bleeding cuts in his person. He smirked at the man as he swept by, his full intent to head for backstage so he could speak with Anzu.

Before he left, however, he turned his attention to the man. He was older, maybe mid-fifties, early sixties with nothing to him but an expensive tailored suit and paunch around his middle. Then, for a brief moment, he looked over to the woman that was sitting beside him. She had an air about her that Kaiba felt very familiar with; something that he had lived with since he was very young. The air of the fortunate was rancid, but hard to miss.

"I understand very well that you seem to find what I do as offensive. As I said before, we draw lines in the sand and decide. Just like I have decided that it is offensive that your companion is half your age yet twice your intelligence," and he watched the man's face change as the grenade went off. After that he went and turned on his heel, walking out of the booth.

He paid no heed to those who spoke his name. He was too focused as he made his way down the main staircase to the first floor. Other people were departing behind him, the flood of men and women as they spoke gaily to one another. He kept moving swiftly, turning a few corners until he made it to a guarded back door. He produced a small card from his breast pocket. The guard nodded and moved aside.

Inside was nothing but dim orange-yellow coating everything like a foul paint. Incense and sweat were heavy. The many vanities were covered in different kinds of make-up and accessories. The women's purses were splayed out on the floor. Costumes were left haphazard on the rack, some of them hung on the prongs of the mirrors or the back of chairs.

Kaiba brought his hand to his breast pocket again. He pulled out the small rose that had been sitting there, undisturbed, all evening. He walked further into the chaos of the dancers. He didn't walk far before he was found by the chocolate haired girl, her hands grabbing his. She was high off the dance and ready to twirl him around, but was caught off guard by the rose. "Oh…Seto…"

He smiled and lowered his head. "I'm glad you like it."

Anzu was clutching it to her chest. "Very much," she said as she tucked it behind her ear. "Did you like the performance?"

"Very much," he replied. "I'm going to get someone to bring you clothes."

"But I have…"

"I'm taking you out," he said, interrupting her. A grin grew on her face. "Somewhere nice. I have something important I want to ask you."

Anzu tried to hide her excitement, but all she ended up doing was look like she was biting off her bottom lip. She lowered her head as well, the laughter bubbling up from her stomach. "Sounds wonderful Seto," she nodded. "I'll be as quick as I can."

And she got up on her toes, kissing him briefly. Sighs went through the room. Both pretended not to notice.

Seto turned away and went out the door, ridding himself of the strong smells in the room. When he got outside, he was faced with other admirers being held back by the guard. He also made note of the journalists and photographers, at least two taking pictures. It wasn't as if they weren't aware he was dating and had been dating Mazaki Anzu for some time.

Anzu stood in her place, stunned, for several moments after Kaiba had left. Her hands were cupped at her chest, and the laughter finally exploded from her.

"I think…"she turned to the crowd of her colleagues that were staring at her, waiting for her to reveal what he had said to her. "I think he's going to ask me to marry him." She said. Seven seconds of silence passed before there was a complete uproar. Her colleagues came up and congratulated her, hugging her tightly. "Now, I know he didn't say that, but what else could 'I have something important to ask you' mean? He's taking me to dinner…oh my God…"she went to her vanity, stripping out of her costume and removing the show make-up that was caked on. There was a knock on the door, a valet pressing through the crack with a small bag. Anzu went up to it, looking inside at the dress and shoes that were waiting for her. She let out a squeal and shut the door.

As Anzu slipped into the knee length dress, all black with a sputter of sequins against the shoulder, she couldn't help but think that it was about time. Two years ago she remembered him coming up to her after he had sat through a small town performance. She was happy with the Domino dance troupe; it was enough for her.

At first, she didn't get along with him. She didn't even want to see him sitting in the audience. Somewhat embarrassed, she still remembered the step she had missed (mistakes always caused a dip in her stomach) when she saw him there, arms crossed, smiling at her. No smirk; not looking like he was ready to hurl some insult. A genuine little smile, his eyes following her across the stage as she danced.

He approached her behind the stage and gave her a little flower.

She brought the rose down from behind her ear and searched the vanities until she found a safety pin and stuck it on the breast of her dress.

There was so much about Kaiba that had been revealed to her over those two years. Some of it was good, some of it was annoying. Anzu knew that Kaiba was no gem, at least as far as his outward personality went. But there was a certain goodwill that she enjoyed. Most of his affections came through actions rather than words.

There was only one thing that had almost driven her to break up with him. When she thought about that, she looked around the dressing room, and at all of her colleagues, and realized that without him she wouldn't have been standing here.

Anzu had known for a long time that dance was a very competitive world, and she was trying her best to get where she wanted to be. Going to college for it, being a part of the Domino dance troupe, practicing day and night just so she could reach the sphere that she got in not because of her talent, but because of the influence.

After six months in their relationship, Kaiba took her to lunch. It seemed like nothing new, them walking into a hotel only to have lunch at the café. When they sat down, Kaiba inquired about his "guest". Anzu immediately looked to him. "Guest?"

"Tomoya-san of the Tokyo Ballet."

Anzu nearly spit out her tea, only hiding it by pressing her napkin to her mouth. "W-why is Tomoya-san coming?" she asked, though the answer was rather clear.

"You are a talented dancer, and I've spoken to Tomoya-san on several occasions about you. She expressed interest and wished to speak to you."

Anzu was silent, and by the time that Tomoya-san finally arrived, she was ready to burst. She had angry eyes towards Kaiba, but kept her silence in front of Tomoya-san.

After Tomoya-san left, Anzu kept Kaiba at the table. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"That!" she pointed in the direction of the door. "Why did you have to do that? I could do it on my own."

"Because you weren't using your resources."

"I've been to their tryouts. It's not like I'm sitting here waiting to be picked just because I try so hard." She crossed her arms. "You would never associate with Tomoya-san anyways. She's not someone you would speak to; not even at a party."

"I danced with her," he said, which seemed just the slightest bit ironic. "Out of courtesy of course. I was making no attempts at trying to promote you," he said. But Anzu knew better. Even if he happened to mentioned Anzu, she knew there was nothing that wasn't purposeful. "When I mentioned you, she seemed interested."

Anzu didn't speak to him for a month after that, even as she was going to private tryouts for the company, being assessed in front of the members and the directors. She could just imagine his name on their lips. How much he would contribute to their company if she was a part of it. She pretended that it didn't hurt. And after a while, as she began going to their practices, long after she and Kaiba were on speaking terms again, she became comfortable with his decision. He said nothing of the strings that he pulled or the contributions towards the Tokyo Ballet. He came to the shows and supported her in her career, and that was all that he needed to do.

Anzu pulled on the end of her dress and walked out a back entrance. She took the hallways towards the main room where Kaiba would be standing, and she waited at the door just to watch him. He was staring at the large clock above the main entrance, waiting for her.

Just as she was about to walk forward, something burst through the open front doors. Kaiba took no notice. At least until he was knocked into. Kaiba side-stepped to catch himself, and he scowled as it stopped in front of the man that he had been speaking to in the booth.

Anzu came up to Kaiba, her arms around his. They both watched, Anzu grinning, Kaiba scowling. "Dogs…"he muttered, batting at his shoulder for invisible dirt.

"I think it's cute."

An usher was coming up to the man, making sure to be loud as he said: "Sir, pets are not allowed."

"Heh...she must've came in the car. I'm sorry."

"Please, take her outside," and the usher came up to Kaiba, bowing at the head. "We're terribly sorry Kaiba-sama."

Kaiba turned away, but Anzu kept him planted. "You know, I've always wanted a dog."

The CEO was less than enthralled by her statement. She hardly, if ever, mentioned that she wanted something. When she did, he almost felt obligated to get it for her because she was so reserved in her taste. But Kaiba knew why she was mentioning it. If she ever did want something, it was not in her first thought to even mention it to him. She had her own money, her own bank account. She got it herself. But when it came to a "dog" he knew that it was something he would be able to purchase without a large dent being made in his finances. Not that Anzu couldn't recoup if that was what she went about. But this was something that would end up being a joint venture if it did occur. Anzu did, after all, live with him.

"It's a disgusting practice," he said. "I will take no part in it."

Anzu looked up to him. "You have to admit, they're more obedient than regular dogs or cats."

"That's beside the point," they had begun to walk outside, the valet fetching his car. "They are not pets. They are not even animals, they are Homo sapiens. The only difference is that their parents were unlucky enough to pass down the wrong traits to them."

"With your blue eyes, you might as well be one of them," she batted his arm. He sneered. "It's a joke Seto; I'm just saying that they're more than just traits. It's been proven scientifically."

"Engineered results to please the masses," he argued. "There is nothing humane or right about any of the practice. You can endorse it all you wish; you are not dragging me into it."

"As far as the law is concerned, they are born and bred as pets for the upper class. Your business partners own them, don't they? Your own subordinates own them. Doctors, lawyers…"

"Dancers," he added. "I'm supposing Tomoya put this in your head?" he said, less then discreetly leaving off any form of respect for Anzu's director.

"What does she have to do with any of this? No, she hasn't said anything to me. I didn't even know she owned one."

"She does more than own it. She pretends to show respect for it in the daytime and at night lets her inhibitions give way."

Anzu curled her nose and climbed into the passenger seat. "You're disgusting," she said. "That's bestiality."

"It's only bestiality when it's a 'beast'," Kaiba replied sharply. His voice had slowly become more severe in the moments that they were speaking. He hardly let his opinions get the better of him, but now he couldn't help it. He tried to contain the annoyance in his voice for the sake of Anzu.

"By law, they are animals."

"They do not have fur, claws, tails, or paws. These are not the same fuzzy creatures from children's songs. Genetically these are human people who are being subjected to a life of enslavement because we've decided that they're traits are unworthy of being in our society. You do realize that we are the only country in the world that has taken to this practice?"

"That's because we…."

"Just because most of our people are a butt of a good look-a-like joke does not mean we are allowed to decide that any that do not fall into that category are allowed to be subjected to torture." He paused, looking around at the road that he was trying his hardest to pay attention to. He wanted to stare Anzu down so that she could see the kind of fire that was rising up from his stomach and licking at his eyelids it was so powerful. "Just like Adolf Hitler deciding that he wants to make the perfect Aryan race…no government body has the right to subject its people to such sanctions."

Anzu plucked the hem of her dress, a seam coming loose and showing up against her skin. "I didn't know you felt so strongly about this."

"I feel strongly about a lot of things, but I keep my opinions to myself. This, however, is something that is not only a matter of humanity, but a matter of sustainability. This may have been enacted many years ago, when we were still small, but it has had an adverse effect on Japan ever since. Our standing in the world holds little value if we look like monsters. We are not some third world country with a dictator. But our government's actions are hurting the people at the cores. Economically, we are suffering."

"Oh…now I get it," she looked over to him. "Your business is suffering because of the practice?"

"Not as badly as some are. Our stocks have plummeted over fifteen percent in the last quarter alone. Some are twice that."

Anzu kept her eyes down. "What do you plan on doing about it?" she nearly whispered. Kaiba didn't respond, but then she didn't expect him to. Business wasn't her knack, and everything he said would go in one ear and out the other. "It's not like anything's going to change. The rest of the world's in economic trouble too."

"Let's not talk about this," he finally said. He was always the one to stop a bad conversation. "This is supposed to be a good night. That was a good opening," he said. Anzu smiled.

* * *

><p>They arrived to dinner, Kaiba walking behind her as they entered and were lead to a seat by the window, the view of the city very panoramic.<p>

Halfway through dinner, Anzu was picking at her meal. She kept waiting for something. Looking at the wine glass expecting to see a ring inside of it. Picking through her food expecting it to be in something she ate. When she could find nothing, she supposed he was just doing this as a gesture and it was going to happen shortly.

When he set his chopsticks down and cleared his throat, she gave him her full attention. "I told you I wanted to ask you something," he said, and she could hear the nerves in his voice. "I've been considering something rather large at the moment. And it could effect this family greatly," he had, for a while, been considering Anzu a part of his 'family' though he didn't say it very often. "I'm thinking of moving us out of Japan."

Anzu went blank. Her beating heart stopped and she had to recalculate. "Moving?"

"Yes. To somewhere more…fruitful. Set up my biggest base of operations somewhere else. The U.S., Great Britain, France. Somewhere else. Somewhere I can have better control. And I wanted to ask you to go with me."

"O-oh I…I don't know I…"she laughed, though there was nothing to laugh about. It was just the nervous feeling boiling up in her. Not even nervous; maybe a little bit cheated or deceived. "That's rather drastic…I mean, I know things aren't going well but…moving?"

"If you're not okay with it, then tell me why."

"Because that's a large move. Going to some other country…"she shook her head. "And you want me to go with you? What about my…career? The Tokyo Ballet? It was hard enough to get into that. These other places?..."

"I had a feeling that was your worry. Each of these places would have an acceptable company for you to join. New York, Paris, London," he said. "All big metropolitan areas. All areas you have visited on tours, have you not?"

"I know but…"she knew there was no arguing. His influence seemed limitless. "I like Japan…"

"It's all you've ever known, but if you chose to stay, I understand."

"Would you be breaking up with me if I did?"

"I…"he lowered his head and considered the question. "I don't know."

"Seto."

"I haven't considered everything."

"Can I be selfish for a minute then?" she asked. He kept his eyes on her. "Why don't we try something? I can probably guess why you're so pro to leaving Japan. Because of the…pets. Because that's what causing the problem, right?"

"Yes."

"Why don't we just…try something? See what happens?"

"Are you trying to bargain with me?" he asked, sitting back in his seat.

"That's right. I don't want to leave Japan, and I know you wouldn't if there wasn't a problem. Why don't we just…test something? Get a dog; see what it's all about. See what the media says. Wait say three months, that's the end of the next quarter or whatever, isn't it?"

"About."

"Wait till the end of the next quarter, see what the stocks do; see what you think of owning a dog."

Kaiba contemplated it, knowing that he would be going against his principles in doing so. But all the same, he wanted to prove to Anzu that there was nothing that was right or humane with owning a dog and that there was also nothing special. And if the stocks continued their plummet, he could easily take her with him if everything was justified.

"You will promise me in writing," he said. "I will promise you that if we were to move I wouldn't break up with you no matter if you stay or come with me. And should you win your wager, we will stay and….keep the dog."

Anzu smiled. "Alright. I'll agree to that."

"Good. We'll have it written up tomorrow. I couldn't find a notary this late at night."

"You're going to pick out the dog. I'll trust your judgment."

He sneered, but said nothing. If he could choose the dog, then it would be easy to find one that was unacceptable and show her the light. "I'll also do that tomorrow."

"I'm glad you're at least trying Seto," he could hear a mix of triumph and sadness in her voice, but inquired to neither. "I hope that this hasn't spoiled anything."

"This is just business," he said, standing up. She followed his motion and coming around to take his hand. He dreaded the morning.

* * *

><p>Kaiba had drafted up the agreement before he went to bed, and early in the morning before he and Anzu were busy a notary came, watching them sign and authorizing it. Afterwards they kissed and went on their respective days. Nothing out of the ordinary. At least, not until Kaiba found himself inside the 'pet' shop, his stomach turning at just the idea. He had his hands plunged in his pockets and his heart pounding terribly.<p>

"They're very obedient. They can speak, but are trained not to do so. They can act as some kind of servant, or help you around the house. Help with children, keep the wife company. All sorts of things," the salesman said. "You were in interested in a…?"

"Dog-like," he said. The man led him back into a room with human sized cages, and he walked along them, staring at the unfortunate men and woman who had likely been raised like this. He saw even young children, and for a moment he imagined Mokuba in one of the cages. He was almost ready to tear out the bars and let them to their freedom, but they would considered hazardous and would be captured and put down, labeled as 'strays' just as any animal.

"Are there any traits you're looking for in particular?"

"It's a gift for my girlfriend," he said. He kept looking. Something that looked like it wouldn't be 'obedient' or 'good for the wife'. Something that would scare Anzu. Something that would convince her that she was wrong. Something that would let her see the light.

Finally, near the end of the row, he saw something that caught his eye and he smiled. It was on the second tier, and he craned his neck to see the man who had his shoulder pressed into the bars looking out at the world with a bitter, disappointed look. He scowled, his arms crossed tight. He was dirty, bruised. Like he had been beating himself against the walls of his cage.

He was blond haired, green eyed, and was nothing but a misfit type. "That one," he said, pointing up. The salesman grimaced. "Something the matter?"

"He is…has…had some trouble in the past."

"It's fine," he said. "My girlfriend said she liked the natural blond look," which was total bull but the salesman simply shrugged when hearing it. "What kind of policies do you have when it comes to having these beings?"

"Like anything, they do have a return policy. Say this one, he's been named Jounouchi Katsuya, has been troublesome, made a mess, or just doesn't really get along with your girlfriend, we have a ten day return policy from the time you purchased him. You will get a full refund; just fill out a statement as to the trouble. Nothing serious."

"What happens if he does something like….bites or hurts one of us?"

"It depends on how badly. We have several different procedures."

Kaiba nodded, and shuddered to think what those procedures were. "Alright. I'll take him."

"I hope you are satisfied," the man said. "I'll get him down for you."

Once the door was opened, Jounouchi jumped down from the cage and stumbled against the floor, gaining balance to look at Kaiba with a kind of glint in his eye. Kaiba could already foresee the trouble that was going to be caused, and he smiled at the kind of chaos he was bringing into his home. "This is for you. It's connected to the collar he's wearing," the man said, handing him what looked like a small remote. "Either you or whoever is home should keep it on you at all times. Say he's trying to escape or has done something minor that you're not okay with, there are several different things that this does. For example…he's broken something in the house," the man pressed a button and, immediately, Jounouchi fell to his knees, his hands against the collar. There was something of a squeal coming from his closed lips and clenched teeth. "Nothing to hurt him fully, but enough to definitely get the message across."

"I see," Kaiba clipped it to his belt and hid it beneath his coat. Jounouchi looked back up to him, tears stinging his eyes.

Shortly afterward, once the papers were drawn up and the price paid, Kaiba led Jounouchi to the car and ushered him in. They both sat in the backseat, the chauffeur driving on. Kaiba crossed his arms and looked at how sorry Jounouchi was, his arms hanging lamely from his knees, the skin almost sagging off the bone where he was so malnourished. Kaiba was almost saddened by the state. "Just so you know, this is not for my benefit. I'm buying you for a…bargain with my girlfriend." Jounouchi looked up. "I'll let you have your fun, and I don't mind if you scare her a little bit. Just…don't push it too far."

There was a happy glint in Jounouchi's eyes, and he smiled wickedly towards Kaiba. He nodded.

* * *

><p>AN: This is loooong. I know that it's long. It's for a purpose. One, I wanted to set up several things and ideas right off the bat that way they were there. Two, I wanted to be able to get to Jou, at least some, before I finished. This is an editted version...my original is well over 5,000 words, probably more...but it was a lot of unnecessary things.

I plan on all of my chapters being rather long. I don't know if it will be as long as this. It may very well be, it may fall a little under. It just depends on how far I take each chapter.

Well, until next time, KenSan out!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Another longin'...this is why this one may take longer to update than most. Again, cramming crap in there. But I also feel compelled to write longer pieces anymore, especially with some of the actual books that I read. Chapters aren't...three, four, or five pages (granted, some are, but a majority I mean). So...eh. I suppose you guys don't really mind.

I'll stop rambling. Onwards.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 2. <span>

The inside of the manor was austere; nothing that was entirely all that special to look at. All the same, the size of it was what caught Jounouchi off guard the moment he stepped inside. He looked left and right, assessing each little detail. It didn't matter how much austerity there was—this was a man that had money to spend. And Jou had no idea who he was.

Kaiba paused in the foyer at the sound of Jou's pause. He decided to make use of the stopped time, pulling of his jacket and folding it over his arm. He was waiting for more of a response from—waiting for something special to happen. He didn't know what. He didn't what it was these pets were supposed to do.

He'd only ever heard them spoke of by his colleagues and his subordinates, but often whenever they seemed aware that he was listening, their conversation would either switch topic, or it would cease all together. He had made it rather clear at work that he wasn't very fond of the pets, or the idea that a human could be, in any way, shape, or form, degraded in such a manner. But he never spoke his peace like he did with Anzu. He was quiet about his seething annoyance and hatred.

So, naturally, he turned to look at Jou and he wondered what he was supposed to do.

With the blond entranced, Kaiba simply walked forward and through the rooms until he reached the kitchen and rifled through his coat pockets, producing the papers that were given to his upon purchase. First was the receipt, but after that there were papers that looked more legal than anything else. He began skimming through them, mouthing some of the things that were written. And he began to get the pattern. No matter what happened, and no matter what a human did to their 'pet' there really was no right for the pet itself. Everything could be forgiven by one matter: euthanasia.

Nowhere did he read what the purpose of the pet was. And he quickly realized that he was thinking too hard. They were the servants, the slaves, and the companions. They were there to be entertaining, and to be comforting, and sometimes to be loathed as if they were some sort of inanimate object. Kaiba knew, inwardly, that most dog owners were very loving people. There was a kind of bond that was between an owner and an animal. Sometimes they became children, whether the person had children or not.

Kaiba's jaw clenched and he set the papers on the countertop for Anzu to have. There was no use to keep reading through it. It was only going to depress him more.

He turned away from it, looking to an opposite counter space. For a moment, he glanced up and waited to see Jou in his shadow. He realized, very quickly, that it was going to be hard to adjust to the fact that he had another person in house. Not only him, but the fact that the staff was unaware of the decision that he and Anzu had made.

When he looked down, he found a note, Anzu's handwriting obvious, and picked it up. Underneath was a plate of cookies, probably hand baked, and it almost seemed too cute to be kind. It seemed as if, all of a sudden, a war had started between him and Anzu. And it was hard for Kaiba to wrap his mind around that thought. He and Anzu never really argued; they quarreled, but it was mostly playful and nothing to get worried about. Now, all of a sudden, they had found a topic that not only were they going to argue over, they had made a bet over. Which, in all reality, seemed harmless, but it worried Kaiba more than an argument might.

He heard footsteps, and he turned to look and see as Jou dragged himself into the room. There was nothing about him that was presentable; nothing about him that looked clean, or kind, or right. The clothes were nothing more than tatters; dirt splashed over them, seams torn, edges frayed. Holes in the jeans. There were no shoes. His feet looked callused, dirty. Everything just seemed limp and broken.

How long had he been subjected to torment? Kaiba had no idea how old this man was, but he was willing to guess that they weren't too far apart in age by the immediate glance over. As he kept staring, he was trying to peel away the layers of filth and wear, attempting to see the real person behind the wreckage.

Jou stared at him before seeming to fall down against the floor Indian-style, his arms crossed. "You're not my responsibility, you're hers. And she's probably not going to be home until late." He picked up the plate and squatted down next to Jou. On any other circumstances, he wouldn't have let so much kindness loose before a person that hardly knew him. But he made an exception. He poised the plate out towards Jou and waited.

Every time the blond seemed to flinch, he was waiting for a voice to come out. But he knew that they wouldn't speak, because it was forced into them not to. Or worse, they were like real dogs and were capable of having their vocal cords removed.

When Jou took one of the cookies, fingering it delicately, everything seemed a little better.

* * *

><p>"Seto?" the knocking came. "Seto? Are you in there?"<p>

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "You can come in you know," he said. His eyes never left the screen. "It's not like the door's locked."

It creaked open slowly. "Sorry. It's your study…"Kaiba finally looked up to Anzu. "Just seems rude to not knock."

"How'd it go?"

"No different from last night, I guess," she said, closing the door back. "You got my note?"

Sometimes the conversations sounded more like he was the boss and she was some kind of secretary. Kaiba tried to get the very thought out of his mind, and he focused on her. "Yeah. I got it. Along with the snack."

"I don't mean to be so…harsh about this."

"It's just business," he said. "Have you met him yet?"

"No, I haven't seen him. I thought maybe you hadn't gotten him yet, but I saw the papers."

Kaiba nodded. "He's wandering probably. I'm surprised Mokuba hasn't come barging in."

"You just let him run loose?"

"He's a human. Whether he had morals or not, it's not like have to watch out for him. I'm not the one who wanted him." Anzu pulled a seat up close to Kaiba, and she stared him down as if there was something important that was burning in her brain. He waited for her as she gathered herself.

"What did you name him?"

"He was already named Jounouchi Katsuya."

"Oh. So you got an older one?" she asked. "Guess that makes it easier. Don't have to teach him so many things."

"I'm going to bed," Kaiba said abruptly, pulling out from behind the desk. Anzu was startled by his sudden motions.

"So early?"

"It's been a long day," he muttered. He could hear Anzu behind him. "You just have a rehearsal tomorrow, correct?"

"Yeah. Nothing special. Why?"

"You should spend some time getting him cleaned up. He needs it."

Anzu nodded. "Why didn't you do it since you were home all afternoon?"

"I have more important things to be doing than looking over the little chore," he replied. "You wanted him, you can have him and everything that goes with him." He was undoing the buttons of his shirt as he was walking down the hall.

"Wow, way to treat me like I'm twelve years old, Seto."

"I'm not trying to."

And before Anzu could retort, there was a piercing scream coming from the downstairs. Kaiba had no doubt in what had just transpired, but Anzu was still afraid and began running down the hall and thundering down the stairs at the sound of the younger Kaiba. "Who is he?" And Mokuba was relatively calm (other than the scream) but was cornered by the blond.

Anzu brought her hands up to her mouth, and it didn't take Kaiba long to read the expression that it seemed most women held when they were 'surprised' by what they were given. Anzu seemed to have forgotten that Mokuba was curious and somewhat taken aback by the blond that was staring at him, glaring almost.

"A blond…"she walked closer and touched his shoulder. Immediately he jumped, looking over his shoulder to her with wide, insecure eyes that shook as he drank her in. His lips parted, as if there were something to say, but he pinched them back together as his eyes skittered over to Kaiba who was taking slow and precise steps into the scene.

Mokuba squirmed out from where he was cornered and came up to his brother, the question still hanging in his eyes. Kaiba put a hand on his younger brother's shoulder, squeezing gently. "I thought you weren't ever going to get a pet…"Mokuba whispered. Anzu seemed so entranced by Jou that he could have said anything at any pitch and Anzu probably wouldn't have heard him.

"This is just a test," he said.

Mokuba nodded, but kept his eyes on Jou. The blond had come up to him and startled him, running until Mokuba was cornered and it seemed as if something bad were about to happen. He almost felt ashamed for screaming, but it was instinct.

"You like him?" Kaiba asked, almost sounding as if all the happiness had been drained from him. Anzu looked back at him. She was biting her lower lip like a child, and she nodded just as childishly. He could see her eyes dimming at his expression. His eyes were shuttered, almost looking tired but she knew the look on him was something else. Anzu looked back at Jou and ran her hands down his shoulders, patting out some of the wrinkles on the sullied and torn t-shirt.

"Definitely need to go shopping tomorrow," she said. "Get him some nice clothes; maybe a haircut," she licked her fingers and began to try and wipe away the grime from his face. He flinched away, pushing her shoulder and bumping up against the wall. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm Anzu," she said, her hand at her chest. "And you're Jou."

There was a kind of flinch that went through Jou. Something that seemed subtle; the sound of his name striking him in some way that Kaiba was trying to understand. "My only condition is he does not sleep in the bedroom. Our business is not his…"

Anzu again looked back, and it seemed like she was playing some old circus trick, each time she looked back her face was a different emotion. "…Right…why don't we get you set up. There should be a spare bedroom that we can fix you up in."

Anzu tried to push Jou along, but he refused. He was caught looking at Kaiba, scanning him. The CEO, now finished with the situation, turned away and began back up the stairs. Mokuba was following him, taking quick steps to keep up with him.

"She talked you into it?"

"Yes," he said, then added: "It's complicated."

"Well…you can tell me about it," Mokuba offered. Kaiba looked back at his little brother. His hands were caught on the collar of his dress shirt, ready to peel it off but waiting for the sake of his little brother. Not that it mattered; he'd already stood nearly exposed in front of Jou. "I bet I can get it."

"I offered her a proposition. She wanted a dog, and I gave it to her on conditions."

"Which is what?"

Kaiba hadn't told Mokuba of his plans. "Business has been declining because of the world market's distrust in Japanese companies," Kaiba explained. Even though Mokuba was in the business with him, it somehow seemed strange to be so ironed in front of his brother. As if he were giving a presentation to geriatric board members instead of the squat boy that hung on his every world, eyes blazing. "I believe that we would fare better if we were not longer rooted in Japan. I told Anzu of this and she argued with me that I didn't understand. That I needed to see it for myself. So I'm proving it to her by letting him run rampant in the house."

Mokuba contemplated his words. He was sitting on his brother's bed, legs swinging off the side, watching as his brother's shadow where he changed behind a closed closet door. "So…we're moving?"

Kaiba paused as he opened the closet door back up. He could stay ironed only so long. Now he was just talking brother to brother. "Yes. I would have said something earlier but I was still contemplating it myself."

"Where would we go?"

"Wherever," Kaiba sat down beside Mokuba.

Mokuba leaned up against his brother, and Kaiba put his arm over Mokuba's shoulder, embracing him warmly. "How long is this going to last?"

"About three months," Kaiba replied. "I know it's not something you're too keen on either."

Mokuba shrugged, but said nothing else for a few moments. There wasn't much else to say. They had a mutual agreement that it was a crappy situation but that they both had to bear with it for the sake of a bet. After a while, Mokuba got up and hugged his brother, telling him that he was going to bed. Kaiba nodded, and climbed in himself though he wasn't tired. He just didn't want to be around Anzu or have the chance to speak with her in bed about the entire endeavor. Despite his insomniac ways, he could fake sleep just as anyone else.

* * *

><p>"C'mon out, I wanna see what you look like," Anzu goaded. This was the kind of dress up she always wanted to play with Kaiba, but he never let her drag him into a department store or boutique. Not that Anzu believed he was capable of wearing anything that was less relaxed than his business attire (it was an unfortunate turn-off) but she would trade being able to dress up Jou for it. "C'mon, anything's better than what you had on."<p>

The saleswoman stood beside the stall, Anzu sitting across from it. Finally, Jou came out looking down at the clothes he was wearing: a red t-shirt with a leather jacket, the pants matching. Jou was fiddling with pants, flattening the thighs out and pulling on the pockets. He refused to look at Anzu. He already felt defiled, now he was just facing her lack of imagination.

"Looks like such a bad boy, doesn't he?" Anzu said, smiling. "Now if only I could get Seto to wear something like this."

"He does look cute," the saleswoman concurred.

Jou turned away from the idle woman chatter. He went back into the stall, closing the curtain. He began stripping, throwing the clothes at the mirror. She's had his hair to a more clean fashion, though his bangs fell in his eyes still ("It makes you look so adorably shaggy"). He shook his head and grabbed the pair of pants that were thrown over the top of the stall. A shirt came with it.

_You're boyfriend's an asshole…you just don't know it yet, _he thought, dressing again. The shirt snagged on the collar, and he fiddled to pull it off. Everything was snagging on the collar, the little red light blinking where he was far away from the controller. But Jou knew that was all a part of the boyfriend's game. He didn't want Anzu to have any control.

Jou came out yet again, but he didn't look at Anzu. He looked to the left, at the next stall over. The owner was sitting like Anzu was, though she was less than pleased. Jou listened as Anzu critiqued him, his lips twitching until he formed a smile. Just as Anzu was commanding him to go back inside, the other pet came out. He was smaller, maybe early teens. Jou lunged at just the sight, pinning the boy to the ground. He shook his head and winked, telling the boy he wasn't doing anything bad even as he raised his fist. The boy nodded back.

He felt Anzu pull against his shoulder. The other owner had stood up. "Control your dog!" she yelled, also pushing Jou away. He swatted at her hands as he was pulled up and away by the saleswoman. "Why wouldn't you have your controller with you?"

Anzu looked at the woman critically. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

The woman was helping the boy up, dusting off the clothes he had just put on. "Just about ripped his throat out." The woman was pressing the boy close to her chest. Jou, despite knowing that the boy was likely a cat, could only see it seeming like it was a mother who was very protective of her boy. He clenched his teeth and tried to lunge again, only to have Anzu pull back on him.

"Bad!" she yelled, swatting him upside the head. Jou turned and faced her with teeth bared. "Don't look at me like that. Sit down, right now!" she said, pointing to the seat she had previously been occupying. Jou furrowed his brows, looked back at the woman still suffocating the boy in her bosom, and then looked back, reluctantly sitting with his hands hanging between his knees. "Honestly! What's the matter with you?" she asked, her arms crossed.

"Why don't you have your controller?" the woman asked again. "Punish him."

Anzu blinked. "Controller?"

"Are you stupid? Don't tell me you bought him black market?"

"No, of course not," she shook her head. "I just…didn't know he was supposed to have one…."

"All of them come with it." The woman dug in her purse, producing the small controller. "It's linked to their collars. If they're being bad, you punish them. Like any animal."

Anzu stared at it, and then looked back at Jou as if he was supposed to her. But how was she to know? Kaiba had never told her about it. "Oh…"she handed the controller back. "I see, well…."she didn't know how to respond. The boy was finally released from the woman's grasp. "I'm sorry for this…commotion," she looked to the saleswoman. "Really. I just got him, I didn't know."

The woman turned up her nose and pushed the boy back into the stall. The saleswoman kept looking at Jou. "He looks rather haggard." She said, trying to move past the ruckus.

"My boyfriend got him," Anzu said. "Must've picked an abused one…how unfortunate."

Jou rolled his eyes. She was a tough nut to crack, he could tell. He crossed his arms and leaned back, looking at her through the "shaggy bangs" and then looking away. "I'll take what I've already picked out."

"Alright," and the women led her to checkout, Jou following her as she motioned for him to.

After she paid, she took Jou's hand and led him outside, walking along and searching for her car. "I'd go to see Seto, but I doubt he'd want you in the office building."

Jou made a habit of not looking her way and turning his attention to anything else that was around. In the very least, he had been well fed in the morning, and now he was standing outside, the fresh air of the Earth going in his lungs. Even if it was cold winter air. Still, he was a given an immediate command—not really a command, more like a gift—that he could have free reign to terrorize the girl. But at what cost? Go back to the slovenly holes that were their cells, their piss and feces cleaned too infrequently, their food coming in with force that half spilled out. No utensils, that was too humane and too risky. His lip wobbled.

"Honda!" he looked at Anzu at her call, her hand raised in the air. "Honda! Long time, no see."

Jou buried his chin in his shirt and looked at his shoes. "Boy don't you look spiffy in nice duds. And no Kaib' with ya today? What's the occasion?"

"He's at work, duh."

"Wow…couldn'ta guessed that one in a millions years," he laughed. "So, who's the catch with ya?"

Anzu looked over her shoulder, tugging Joy closer. "This is Jou. He's my uh…"she blushed a little bit.

"Some fancy foreign mister or somethin'?"

Anzu wasn't sure why she paused in telling him. "Well…no. I wouldn't do that to Seto. I love him."

Honda arched a brow. "Then how you got yer hands on a …blond?" but he looked around, and his question was answered. The boutique was only a few paces down. Not to mention the bag hanging from her arm. "Oh…I see. Interestin'."

"Yeah. I'm kind of in a bet with Seto right now…so, we bought Jou."

"Huh. So you two had a spat?"

"Not really. He's just being his usual boorish self. Gotta be right, you know?" And she sincerely hoped that he wasn't. Looking at Honda, a long-time friend, she realized that there was more than her career that was keeping her in Japan. "It's almost lunch, you wanna join us?"

"Can ya take him into any restaurants? Most don't like pets."

"I was thinking of going home and eating."

"Me, come to that fancy place? I don't know Anzu…Kaiba finds out…"

"You're my friend Honda. He has no right to say anything to you. Not if he wants me to be happy."

Honda almost said something. About how it was still Kaiba, how there were still parts of him that would never change. He sighed, thinking of high school when all of them seemed to be tormented by his presence. When everything that flew from his mouth was a scathing remark and he was trying to burn their ears off by just speaking. Honda never grew fond of Kaiba; there was too much of a cold shoulder for him to be able to. But he looked at Anzu and tried to think of how much leverage she might have.

"Alright. The workaholic doesn't come home till late anyways," he shrugged. "Get to check out this schmancy place too. What a privilege…"Anzu just laughed.

Anzu lead them both to her car, putting Jou in the backseat. "You didn't have your car did you?"

"No. I was just walkin' around. Killin' my day off."

Anzu nodded, waited until they were all comfortable in the car, and then took off back towards the manor. She couldn't help but think that there was something that Kaiba was keeping from her. Some factor that he was purposely withholding so that scales would tip in his favor. She tried not to say anything; she'd just talk to him later. Or, at least, start going through his drawers.

When they got home, Anzu let Jou loose in the house, watching as he disappeared into the bowels and away from her and Honda. She stopped for a moment, watching where he stepped out of his shoes and kicked them away. He was like a selfish child. But she didn't fault him for it. She wondered how long it had been since he'd worn shoes.

"Hungry?" she asked.

"Famished." Honda followed her into the kitchen, but she kept her eyes wide open. And she began to wonder what Kaiba could have done with the controller. Did he keep it with him, take it to work? Or did he stash it in his study, where he knew she was almost too shy to enter. Then again, there were probably other little places in the house that she still didn't know about. Days of making her own excavations still left her knowing very little about the quirks of the place. Almost like she was searching an endless maze.

She looked over her shoulder, smiling at Honda as if nothing was on her mind. "What do you think would happen if I put Jou in some of Seto's clothes?" she asked.

"Evict you probably," Honda laughed. "Think about it: an animal in his clothes."

"He doesn't think of them as animals," she said. "I keep thinking over the things he said to me. How he thinks they're engineered results and stuff. And I don't know." She grabbed the tea kettle, filling it with water. "I want to believe him, because he's always right. But at the same time…"and she gestured, which meant nothing but to her it was enough. "Enough about this though. You been seeing everyone?"

"Yeah, a course. You're the one that's been all busy."

"I know…I know…."and she laughed, following the conversation on its course. She still kept looking back, looking for Jou. She didn't know why she wanted him by her, but something felt comfortable about him nearby. Like she could already sense something sinister that was brewing. But other than being a brute, she couldn't think of anything menacing that Jou could do.

* * *

><p>Kaiba found himself mildly annoyed by the sounds that were protruding through the thick glass of the windows in his office. Though it was usually easy for him to simply disregard any kind of noise or nonsense that was outside, he couldn't help but think that they were almost too close for comfort. He turned to look over his shoulder for the dozenth time that afternoon, and he sighed knowing that there was little that he could do about the construction.<p>

"How long is that annoyance going to be there?" he asked to the air, rubbing his temples mildly. He shuffled through papers, going back to what he was working on, a pen held tightly between his fingers. He was about to get up, only to hear his phone chirping in his pocket. It was somewhere around five o' clock. Somewhere around a time where he usually called Anzu (if he wasn't preoccupied). She usually didn't call him. Just like she usually didn't enter his study no matter how many times that he told her that it was okay.

"Kaiba Seto speaking," he answered.

"_Hey Seto_."

"Is something the matter?" he asked. There was nothing urgent in his voice (he didn't suppose it was, not by her calmness) but he had to ask.

"_I don't know if I'd put it that way._"

Kaiba sat up in his seat, tucking his arm beneath the elbow of the arm that held the phone. "Go on."

"_I went out today…I bought Jou some clothes. And then he attacked another pet. He didn't cause any damage, thankfully, but…._" She expected him to stay something, but Kaiba was silent on the line. "_Some woman said something to me. Something about a controller. Do _you_ know anything about that_?"

Kaiba didn't let the sigh in his chest escape his lips, but he paused to lean back in his seat and pull out the center drawer in his desk, the controller sitting atop a box of paperclips. He pulled it out, putting it in his direct line of vision. His thumb slid over the buttons. "No, I was given anything like that."

"_You sure?_"

"Don't you think that I would have given it to you I did?" he asked, replacing it in his desk and closing the drawer. "Anzu?"

"_Well…yeah. I was just curious_," and she sat silent for a few moments before saying: "_I should probably go get it from the shop. Maybe they forgot to give it to you_."

"I suppose that's entirely possible," he said, and stood up from his desk. "I'll go after I get off. I was planning on leaving early this evening."

"_Are you sure_?"

"It's on my way." He kept his tone clipped, as if there was some kind of urgency in his voice even though there was nothing all that important. He pulled his coat from the hanger, cradling the phone where he heard some kind of question still hanging on Anzu's tongue but she wasn't about to say it. "Is there something else that's bothering you?"

"_Not at all_."

"Then I have to get off." He pulled the phone away from his ear and waited.

"_I love you, Seto_."

His eyes half lidded. "You too."

He hung up, going back to his desk and opening the drawer, producing the controller. He tucked it into his jacket pocket as he brought up his briefcase, stacking the materials on his desk into it. He looked over his shoulder, and furrowed his brows when seeing the construction that was going on. A crane swung by his window, and he frowned.

When he walked out by his secretary, half busy with a phone call, he tapped on her desk. She snapped her head up. "Yes, Kaiba-shachou?"

"Get in contact with whoever is in charge of the construction and tell them they're getting too close to the building."

"Of course, Kaiba-shachou. Are you leaving for the evening?"

"Yes."

She said no more, only went back to her phone call as he continued on towards the elevator, his mind heavy with the lies he had told Anzu.

* * *

><p>When he arrived home, he heard music as it floated through the manor, the empty halls carrying it as if it were beside him. He recognized the instrumental; music Anzu had danced to in the performance. He took heavy strides as he went down the halls, the music becoming louder with each step, his ears ringing slightly. But Anzu always did that, the music profoundly too loud so she could drown out everything else. Just like he preferred profound silence when he was working on something precisely.<p>

He came upon the door, ajar, and Anzu in her leotard going through the motions, the mirrors along the left wall reflection every step as she fluttered across the dance floor, through movements she could do by herself. Then Kaiba saw something peculiar. Jou was perched on a seat that was usually reserved for him to watch. A seat he took when coming into her studio without her knowledge, and he would sit for many minutes, legs crossed, waiting for her to open her eyes and notice him, though her stride never broke.

Jou had his feet in the seat, his arms draped over his knees and he cocked his head to the side and watched her. In the mirror, he could some kind of amused look on the blonde's face. He inched the door open further, blinking at all long, heavy note.

Anzu noticed him almost immediately, and she stopped her routine. Jou looked back at Seto, watching where the stiff figure seemed to glide into the room, his hand fishing in his coat pocket. Anzu went over to the stereo, shutting off the music. There was quiet, and she looked up to him with curious eyes. He produced the small remote, handing it to her. "Ah, so that's what she was talking about."

"I'd use it sparingly," he said.

Anzu nodded, and reached down, putting the remote on the cart with the stereo. She played with the volume dial, turning it down. She looked back up to Seto, reaching on her tiptoes to bring her lips to his. It was brief, but she held onto his shoulders, easing his coat off of him until it pooled on the floor. And she turned the stereo on. "C'mon, it's been a while."

There was no change in his expression, though he put his hand on her hip, holding her other and began to dance along with her, the dancer trying her best to let him lead though she knew Kaiba was not very nimble on his feet. Anzu kept looking at him, looking for something in his eyes. She usually saw his determination, though it was like an ember amongst the fire. But all she saw was something that was empty, his eyes drifting elsewhere. Sometimes they were at the mirrors, sometimes they were at the walls. Sometimes they were at Jou.

Because he knew Jou was watching with some kind of wrath on his face. The blonde's eyes were transfixed towards the mirrors anytime they did not shift to the CEO, and when the music stopped, his eyes were still on the mirrors, and there was something brewing.

* * *

><p>In the late night, Seto lie awake, Anzu sound beside him, her backside to him. He sat up in bed, eyes keen to the darkness, and all of a sudden there was a cacophony of glass ringing from the halls further away, from a room downstairs, each little piece dropping to the music playing in the background. And Kaiba stood up, getting out of bed and walking to the door. There was another large crash, the music halting suddenly. Anzu shot up at the sound and she looked to where her boyfriend was at the doorway, leaning.<p>

She ran right past him, and she didn't see the Cheshire grin printed across right under his nose.

* * *

><p>AN: The construction is important. Can anyone take a stab as to why? Well, till next time, KenSan out!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I have literally been writing the paragraph by paragraph, because that seems like about all the time I've been getting recently. So...here goes nothing. I think this will stir the pot a little more. A few more character introductions.

* * *

><p>Chapter 3.<p>

Seto didn't know if Anzu was crying, or if there was some kind of punishment that came upon Jou. He went about his morning routine as if nothing had ever occurred. He showered, dressed, and got everything together that he might need to head off to work. When he descended the stairs, he was surprised to see Anzu sitting at the base of them. He could hear her sniffling, and he wondered why she hadn't come to him. This was something that she had every right and reason to, but she didn't.

"What was the racket this morning?" he asked, as if he didn't know.

Anzu didn't say anything out loud; she swung her hand out and showed a shard of the mirror that was once in the studio. He knew this was the outcome, yet he was swallowing his heart the moment that it jumped up into his chest. "It-it was totally de-destroyed." Kaiba took the piece from her and looked at his reflection, his countenance its usually steely grimness. He lowered himself and sat beside Anzu.

"And what did you do?"

She shrugged. "Looked for the remote," she said. She used the butt of her hand to wipe away a few stray tears. She wasn't really crying. That phase was over. Now she was just sitting and feeling sorry for herself. "And when I found it, I used it."

Kaiba straightened his back. It wasn't like he didn't think this would happen. It was still the initial thoughts that seemed to strike him as off. "And Jou?"

"He…I don't know…he passed out and I haven't went to see if he was okay," she paused when he passed the shard back to her. "He might still be in the studio."

Kaiba stood up, caught between his schedule and the flicker of concern that bubbled up from his chest into his throat. He was the one that told Jou to terrorize Anzu. Not that he was at fault, entirely. Jou knew he had the collar. Kaiba sighed and held his hand on Anzu's shoulder as he walked down the stairs and said: "I'll be back late."

He could feel Anzu's eyes as they drilled into his back, but he pretended that she wasn't hurt by his callousness and disinterest.

* * *

><p>It was an ideal little mini-mart. The lights buzzed where they were ready to flicker and go out. The cashier was leaning against the counter reading a magazine, flipping through it with an extremely bored expression. The aisles were tall and close together, enough to hid him any make it very easy for him duck down or turn into a hidden nook or cranny so if the cashier suddenly wasn't bored, he was noticeable.<p>

Trouble was, no matter he did, he was noticeable. All of his hair was hidden underneath a knitted toboggan, and he was bundled tight in a hooded sweatshirt, hands balled in fists inside the front pocket. His eyes skimmed overtop all of the products that were on the shelves, scanning each of them as if checking for relevancy. And when he was satisfied, he reached his hand out and plucked it off the shelf, stuffing it in the front pocket and balling his fists again.

Again his eyes were on the cashier as she flipped the magazine page loudly. Her frustration, for whatever reason it was, became all too audible. And he knew that she was going to look up even before he had time to move. She looked at him, scrutinizing, and immediately she said: "Hey! Scram you!" She came from behind the counter, her steps heavy. "Get out before I call the pound."

Despite her small threats, something struck a chord in him. Likely, she wasn't the only one that was in the store. His breath hitched and he turned. Shopping time was over; running time was now. It didn't take too long for him to hear another set of heavy footsteps. He was out the door, the little bell chiming as he went. His feet slapped the pavement, and he took a moment to look over his shoulder at the burly man following him.

His eyes skittered over every building, every street corner, and every crevice that could be a potential hiding spot. But really it was all a matter of committing things to memory. Looking at the landmarks and deciding where to go. At each passing street, each city block, he thought that he was there. His heart skipped a beat and his breathing stopped.

And then he took a sharp turn, because whether or not he thought he was at the right street, he always knew what the right street was.

The further he pressed, the faster he became. And while the burly man still chased him (aware that taking him to the pound would more than make up for the stolen goods) he was thinking three steps ahead. At the back of the alley was a wall, but it was perfect to scale. The divots of time made it easy for him to put his hands and feet in the scoops and climb like some parkour monkey. And there was a gape of astonishment from the burly man. For a moment, he rested on the top of the wall, looking down at the man who was too out of shape to follow him; he smirked, amused.

He fell down the side, landing on the closed lid of a dumpster and jumping down from there. The safe house was now only a few blocks down. He walked with his shoulders squared, his hands freely swinging at his thighs. There was no reason to look suspicious. He kept this way until he came to a back door, and he knocked four times before walking in it.

The full kitchen staff, some twenty different people piled in the small, sweaty environment, didn't even pay any heed to his as he passed by their stoves and sinks. The knocks were reason enough. They didn't notice as he opened a door labeled 'Freezer' and went down the stairs into a string of bunkers that were anything but freezers. Once there, he pulled off the toboggan, his near white hair cascading out, framing his equally pale face. Several pairs of eyes looked up at him.

"What'd ya get?" A light blonde boy asked. He sneered and pulled out the small packs of crackers he had managed to filch from the mini-mart's aisles. "And…?"

"No 'and'. I got chased all the way to the wall."

The light blond boy huffed. "Great Bakura. Just great. This was supposed to be a one man job."

Bakura huffed, gnashed his teeth a little bit, and sat down. "I am not going back to the pound or sitting in some store window," he growled under his breath. "Why don't you actually pull your weight Marik? Go risk your ass for your bread."

"Because we agreed you would do it if you want Ryou out of captivity."

Bakura huffed again. "Don't say that around Yami."

"Like he's under the delusion that Ryou is still safe," Marik scoffed, sitting across from Bakura. "Yami knows better than that. He's probably just watching us to see if we can get through this without being idiots and getting Ryou killed."

The door opened, and the both of them silenced, their eyes glued to the door as a tanned individual came through the door. "Have you just gotten back Bakura?"

"Yes. And Marik isn't appreciative that I almost got myself caught for a meal."

Yami sat down in a remaining chair, glancing around at the room with a very thoughtful look. The two, who had been squabbling so loudly, found themselves wondering what was so important to sit down in front of them without having anything to say. So their silence stayed just as well. Eventually Yami would have to speak. But the pondering continued, and both knew that Yami was never shy. If there was ever any two people he would share words with in confidence, it was Bakura and Marik. But there was also someone else, and when Yami lowered his head and crossed his arms, it seemed all too obvious.

"Jou's been sold."

"Again?" Bakura scoffed. "How many owners is that idiot going to give Jou to before he gets the point?"

"Or before something happens to Jou?" Marik asked, softer.

Yami hummed. "For the moment, I believe he is in the best hands possible. The manager at the shop told me very little, but he didn't make it discreet that it was Kaiba Seto who purchased him."

Both Marik and Bakura looked extremely curious. "Kaiba? Rich man Kaiba?" Bakura asked.

"Yes, the CEO of the gaming corporation," Yami said. He stuck his hand into his weathered jacket and pulled out a folded newspaper. He opened it up, flattening it out over the tabletop and flipping through the pages until he came upon what looked to be something of a social page, and while it wasn't a picture of Kaiba as they were expecting, there was a snapshot of Jou with a brunet woman. "This is a dancer with the Tokyo Ballet, Mazaki Anzu. She is Kaiba's social partner."

"Social partner? What's the heck's that?" Marik asked and continued staring at the Anzu. The picture was taken as she walked ahead of Jou.

"She's his girlfriend, that's what it means," Bakura answered.

"Correct. Except they are hardly a pair. They're more like a bridge between the creative and the logical. And Kaiba is playing a game…no one knows it yet."

"What game could he possibly be playing?" Marik scoffed. "He bought Jou as a present for his girlfriend, that's what this says."

Yami looked over the pictures again, frowning. "He is creating a revolution, though I don't think it's his intent. He had created a game to prove to one person just what this farce is and has always been. But with his influence, he will prove to so many more if he puts more effort to it; if the right circumstances happen to his advantage."

Yami went into his own contemplation, studying the one good picture of Kaiba that was available in front of them. His stoic face ever the same, ever practiced. He was a disciplined man, Yami knew. He could just see it in Kaiba's demeanor—his pressed attitude, pressed clothes. Every twitch a calculated move. He didn't need to study Kaiba long to know what kind of values he had.

"Like anyone cares what the CEO of a gaming company does," Marik sneered.

"He has money," Bakura said in place of Yami. "And he has a lot of it. With that kind of money, you're opinion matters. If we had that cash, we'd he yelling in the streets that all of this is crazy, wouldn't we?"

"Of course."

"The only difference is Kaiba doesn't see the need to yell, because he knows no one will listen to just him. One man, no matter how much he's worth, can make a total difference. He needs an army behind him to stir the controversy." Yami continued in place of Bakura.

Marik sighed. "I still don't really get it, but whatever Yami. You know what you're talking about."

Their wise man nodded. "A pebble in a pond will soon create many ripples," he murmured before standing and leaving. Marik and Bakura just looked at each other, both partially confused, but agreeing that Yami probably knew more than he was letting on.

* * *

><p>Kaiba roamed the halls of the house. Anzu was out, as she had been more frequently. She'd called him and told him that she was going to stay out late and go to a party with some of her cast mates. He'd begun to wonder her motives after her studio had been wrecked.<p>

When he went in the evening that it was wrecked, he found something eerie that lingered in the dilapidated room. Light from the hallway glimmered and bounced off of the glass shards still lying on the floor. He wondered why they had not yet been cleaned, but didn't have to think far. Anzu probably wanted it kept preserved, like some kind of temple to the lost.

It had been a week, still a mess, and he was beginning to get worried. He knew Anzu was very grateful for the gift when he gave it to her, but there was a limit to how much she could like something. And now she seemed to be worship the dead room as if it were a dead person. He rubbed his eyes and turned down, looking at his watch. It wasn't too late, the help was still around. He went out to a main hall and found a call button. Within minutes a woman stood before, bowing at the head. "Yes Kaiba-sama?"

"I want Anzu's studio cleaned." The maid blinked as if she was confused. "Understand?"

"Of course, Kaiba-sama." She bowed again and turned on her heel to go in the opposite direction. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that Anzu had ordered for the preservation of the room's destruction, but he was the master of the house and he wasn't going to let her hold onto broken shards, especially when it could be fixed.

Once he saw the maid pass by with supplies and a second maid in tow, he turned and went upstairs, aiming for his workroom. It was only as he kept walking that he noticed an eerie quiet. Jou made very little noise, but he was surprised he couldn't hear Mokuba somewhere in house. For some reason, Mokuba was disproportionally loud in whatever he did. He didn't like that he couldn't hear anything.

"Mokuba!"

Silence. It was too early for Mokuba to be in bed. He stood outside the workroom, the door cracked where he had opened it. "Mokuba is playing with your new pet."

Kaiba nearly jumped at the sudden voice, and he looked into the workroom with a sneer. "Where are they?"

"Did I scare you Seto?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes. No body, but he had a sense of humor. "No. Where are they?"

"Mokuba just dragged him out of playing with the power cords. They're in the parlor."

"They're quiet," Kaiba said, leaving his door cracked just so he might have the chance to hear something coming from the bowels of the home.

The workroom was about the only space in the house that Kaiba forbid the cleaning staff to touch themselves. The counters along the walls were strewn with pieces of machines, wires, chips, and other mechanical objects that were easily damaged. The room had little character besides it utter disarray of items. The floor tiles, the walls, the ceiling were all white, and the lights made the enter room glow in fluorescence. Though he kept it in disarray, he cleaned it regularly. No need for dust to damage his work.

A desk was settled in the direct center of the room, the tabletop covered in papers. Designs, schematics, charts. Anything that was to his benefit. Each neatly stacked in a certain place so he knew where everything was. In the center was his computer, two screens that seemed to suddenly come to life without his interaction with them. "How many times have I told you to stay out of my things?"

"You have very little control over where I chose to go Seto."

"I can delete you."

The disembodied voice laughed. "You wouldn't."

"You seem to think that I believe in bluffing." Seto sat down at the computer, looking between the two screens. One of them showed a young boy's face, smirking, his light colored hair nearly covering his eyes. "What do you want?"

"I don't like him messing with the power cords."

"You are imbedded in my mainframe. You will not be lost if the power cord is pulled."

"I could be damaged; I could lose information," Noa sulked. Kaiba, again, rolled his eyes. He knew that his web cam had flicked on, but that still didn't stop him. He put his hands to the keyboard, relaxing his shoulders, and began typing. "You don't care in the slightest, do you?"

"No."

"I'm glad you care so much for my well-being, my brother," Noa scoffed.

"I can rewrite your program," Kaiba said. "Though I believe I would make a few small changes."

"You're firewall needs to be stronger," Noa said, deflecting. Kaiba gave no hint of annoyance. "I got right through it onto your main computer, if I could, anyone could."

It was in the back of his mind to change it so Noa couldn't get through, but at the same time it was a nice tease. In the least, when he was bored, Noa would show up to "annoy" him. And of course, he didn't like his brother all the time, but Noa was a lot of the driving force behind his core values about the pets.

"Have you been keeping an eye on Jou for me?"

"I can't help but watch. He is into anything and everything, and it worries me." Kaiba focused on the screen that Noa didn't inhabit, shifting through screens to get to the documents that he needed. "And your girlfriend does a poor job. She's not very appreciative of your gesture."

"Get off my monitor." Noa flicked away, but he knew that Noa was still in the computer and like a sound bite.

"Let me guess, she doesn't like how you've attached strings to it? Drawn up a contract and everything?" Noa said after a while. There was a pause in Kaiba's typing, but only a second before it started up again. "Didn't you say that you wouldn't ever get one of them?"

"This isn't something I want," Kaiba said, and shifted away from the computer and to a small stack of drawings.

"You're proving a point."

"Precisely." He picked up a pencil and began scratching at one of the sketches, writing in the margins. There was more to be said, but no reason to say it. Noa kept his eye on Seto through the webcam, noting the steely eyes as they gazed over his work with scrutiny. He popped back up on the monitor, staring as his "brother" worked hard. He let out a resentful sigh and disappeared, turning off the webcam and microphone, going back into the depths of the program. Kaiba noticed and gave a bitter smile.

In the back of his mind, he knew this experiment wasn't going to end very well.

* * *

><p>Mokuba sat across from Jou in the parlor, a board game between them. Much like his brother, he treated Jou as if he were a human and not the dog they had labeled him as. The only thing that made him cringe was the collar that was almost obnoxious around his thin neck. "Your go," Mokuba said, finishing moving his piece.<p>

He'd been trying all night to get Jou to talk, but the blond was a tough nut to crack. He'd make small noises, hisses, growls, anything that wasn't an actual syllable. They played through most of the game, Mokuba coaxing at every turn, even going so far as to try and scare Jou or make him angry. But Jou seemed to have it down to an art.

After a while, Mokuba just asked: "You…can actually talk though, can't you?" Jou nodded. "Then why not? It's not like we're gonna care or get you in trouble or anything."

Jou brought his hands up to the collar and then, spontaneously, fell over onto the floor, his body convulsing as if shocked. He then propped himself up and shrugged.

"But you don't know that."

Jou shrugged again. Mokuba pulled something out of his pocket that made Jou's eyes go wide. It seemed as if no one cared who was in control of the remote. But then, this family wasn't exactly the kind of family that he'd had in the past.

"Why don't we just…take it off?" he asked, and he pressed a button at the bottom of the controller. Jou was surprised to feel the collar open up and release his neck from its grip. He brought his hands up, pulling it apart and removing it. His lips twitched, uncomfortable but relieved, at the sight of it as it laid in his hands. He nodded to Mokuba, and set the collar on the floor.

"Ya…"he paused at how crinkled his voice had sounded. He cleared his throat several times until it didn't seem so worn. "Yeah, I can talk…jus don't know what'd happen if I did."

Mokuba smiled. "It's cool, I get it. But, I don't think it's got a sensor in it or anything. Just a hunk of metal with a few tricks."

"Eh…"Jou still couldn't help but be quiet. Especially at the sound of feet as they came down the stairs. He'd heard as Kaiba called for Mokuba earlier, but now he was silent. The thumping of his shoes was quite clear. Kaiba had a very particular gait; a very formal, practiced strut.

"Mokuba?"

"Finished, nii-sama?"

"For tonight." Mokuba glanced back at Jou. He frowned. "Something the matter?"

"No, nothing," he said. "I was just…playing games with Jou. Give him something to do."

It took Kaiba less than thirty seconds to realize that Jou wasn't wearing his collar. It didn't bother him in the slightest, but something seemed off about the whole scene. And what was worse was that something possessed him to pick it up and put it back on Jou. The blonde didn't take it lightly. Most of it was how close Seto had gotten to him. Normally he wouldn't lash out so irrationally. He was good at self-control. But what better way to piss off the girlfriend then to screw with the boyfriend?

As Seto moved away, Jou reached out and bit down on the CEO's arm as hard as he could, knowing well that he broke the skin. Two seconds later he was pressed against the wall. "Too stupid not to bite the hand that feeds you?"

"Oh boy, aren't you creative fancy-pants?" Jou growled. "Haven't heard that one before."

His voice cracked painfully when he tried to raise it to an intimidating level. Kaiba raised his brows and released Jou from the grip. The blonde thumped against the wall, breathing heavily, his eyes glinting between excitement and anger. "Nii-sama, he didn't mean it," Mokuba coaxed, and he tried pulling Kaiba back. The elder brother stayed, glaring down Jou. "I took the collar off of him. I didn't know you wanted it left on."

Kaiba tried to relax, and he looked down to the red bite mark in a neat semi –circle on his forearm. "I can't fault you for never being taught manners," Kaiba said, but it was hardly forgiving. "Stupidity, on the other hand, is something you could easily overcome if you willed yourself for it."

He rubbed along the wound and turned to walk away. "How 'bout ya put that in Layman's terms, richboy?"

Kaiba straightened his back, more than willing to play Jou's game, but he felt it was better to simmer in the silence. "I don't care whether or not he had the collar on," he said, referring to Mokuba. The boy seemed shocked, unable to decide whose side he needed to take. "Though I am curious how you got the remote.

Mokuba looked down to it. "Oh um…Anzu sorta left it on your desk. I grabbed it when I was trying to find Jou. It blinks when it's far away, and you can get it to let out a noise like if you've lost your keys."

Even Jou was a bit surprised when Mokuba said it. Mokuba flipped the thin remote around like it was nothing but a toy. "You're okay?" Kaiba asked.

"Yeah, fine. We've just been playing games and stuff. I found him routing around in the power room." And Mokuba turned to Jou.

"Whaddya lookin' at me for kid?"

"You can tell him what we were doing. You can talk."

Kaiba crossed his arms, finally turning back around to engage Jou. The blonde's throat closed some. "I was lookin' around this big damn place. Can't find my ass from a hole in the ground around here. Need's a map'r somethin'."

Kaiba laughed, his face hardly changing, and he turned away from Jou one more. Mokuba lowered his arm, body limp, as he stared at his brother's backside. "Well, that coulda gone better."

"Yeah…no kiddin'."

"Why the heck'd ya bite him? That's just mean…and gross." Jou shrugged, his head lowered.

"Reflex. Lotsa hands that like touchin' and pullin'. Not somethin' I wanna go into detail about." He slid down the wall and knit his fingers together. "Wanna…keep playin' or somethin'? Maybe….a videogame?"

Mokuba knew his brother had disappeared into the corridors of the home, likely to find a bathroom and disinfect. Still, he looked over his shoulder to see if he could still see him. "Yeah, sure. Let's go up to my room."

* * *

><p>"…why would you do that!"<p>

"Because it's a room and it needed cleaning."

"But…but it's mine. I can do whatever I want with it!"

Kaiba had half a mind to slap her, but his etiquette made him know better than that. He and Anzu were at breakfast, something she insisted upon, while Mokuba had gone to school and the house seemed fairly empty. Except for, of course, Jou who lingered behind the corner and listened to their "private" coversation.

"You're being naïve and petty about it."

"You don't get what it means to me. It was more than a gift Seto, you can't just replace it."

"Yes, you can. Because it's not some living breathing thing. It can be replaced. It's just mirrors and glass, that's all."

"You wouldn't say that if he trashed one of your computers I bet," Jou's ears perked up. The cacophony of their words was almost too much. "You would moan about how the information was lost and how much of a screw it would put in your business."

"Because it would. Because it holds valuable information. You're mirrors are just reflective pieces of glass. You might as well be dancing in the bathroom."

"…!"Jou snickered at her sudden noise of annoyance and shock. Anzu seemed like the person that was very happy, very nonchalant. But she was also someone who put stock in things that Kaiba saw no point in. And Jou could hear it in the way they spoke. Anzu was floating; Kaiba was grounded. She gave everything a bloated meaning; he gave just the bare bones. It was almost laughable how incompatible the both of them were. The creative and the logical. The right brain and the left. "Why…why would you even say that…? I thought you…you were the one who…"

"I'm the one who gave it to you, is that what you're going to say?"

"Because you did…because I thought you cared."

"I gave you a lot more than just a room," Kaiba said, and the legs of his chair squealed when he pushed the seat back to stand. Anzu mirrored him.

"What's that supposed to mean? And where are you going?"

He was wound so tight he was about to break. He could take anymore of her whining about the room. At first, Kaiba considered fixing it for her (wondering, inwardly, if Jou would just break it again) but now that was hardly even a thought. Not even a glimmer. Because for some reason, all of a sudden, something had changed.

"Figure it out on your own."

Kaiba glided by Jou, fully away that he had been sitting against the corner listening. He didn't object. What more of a role did Jou have to play? It wasn't as if he ever spoke to Anzu; he refused. Which, in a way, made Kaiba smile. Why, he wasn't so sure.

* * *

><p>AN: So...I have hardly ever written Bakura, Marik, or Noa. So...this will be fun. There is actually a reason there are twos, like with Yami and Yuugi, Ryou and Bakura, and Malik and Marik. And there's something with Noa as well.

The relationships are a bit...interesting, granted. But fun nonetheless. Oh, how I love writing arguments...always fun.

Well, till next time, KenSan out!


End file.
